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Speech and Hearing Science (BA)

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech and Hearing Science teaches students about human speech, language and hearing as it prepares them to think critically about how people communicate with one another and experience the world around them. It is the study of normal and disordered functioning of the auditory system, the speech mechanism, and language processing. It is a diverse field which draws upon a number of other disciplines, including anatomy, physiology, psychology, linguistics, physics, engineering, medicine and education.​

Career Opportunities

CareerCast.com, an online career resource for finding targeted job opportunities by industry, function and location, named "audiologist" as the #2 job on its list of "The Best Jobs of 2015."

U.S. News & World Reports cites Speech-Language Pathologist as one of the top best jobs in the country and one of the top 5 best social services jobs.

Related Programs

Speech and Hearing Science

The Undergraduate Minor in Speech and Hearing Sciences requires 15 semester hours of course work. Its purpose is to educate and promote the awareness of communication disorders. In addition, students completing a minor in Speech and Hearing Science will have completed many of the prerequisites required to apply for an advanced degree in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology. (SPHHRNU-MN)

Human Development and Family Science (EHE)

Linguistics

The undergraduate program in linguistics permits a student to combine a broad spectrum of humanistic and scientific interests and to strengthen his/her analytic skills. The student is encouraged to explore with faculty the many relationships that linguistics has with other fields in order to discover the optimal program to meet his/her individual goals. (LINGUIST-MN)

Neuroscience

Neuroscience is a scientific discipline that investigates the organization, development, and function of the nervous system, and its relationship to behavior, cognition, and neurological/neuropsychiatric disorders. (NEURSC-MN)

Psychology

There are seven minors associated with Psychology. The current seven minors are: Biological Bases of Behavior, Clinical Psychology and Individual Differences, Developmental Psychology, General Psychology, Organization and Performance, Psychology Research, and Social Psychology and Personality

Spanish

The Spanish minor consists of a minimum of 15 credit hours in the study of Iberian and Latin American Literatures, Cultures, and Hispanic Linguistics. The language of instruction in all Spanish classes leading to the minor will be in Spanish. (SPANISH-MN)

Affiliated Departments & Centers

Associated Facilities

Back to Capitol Hill

The Ohio State University chapter of the Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) descended upon Capitol Hill, May 28-31, to lobby on behalf of audiology issues. Students were accompanied by the governmental relations staff of the American Academy of Audiology, Kate Thomas and Marilyn Richmond; and Tanya Tolpegin, executive director of the American Academy of Audiology.

The visit marked the third annual student-directed advocacy trip for Ohio State SAA. The Ohio State chapter is the first to embark on an advocacy trip to Capitol Hill, and since then, multiple SAA chapters have taken up the charge to coordinate trips of this nature. The trip is funded through student fundraisers and generous donations from Ohio State’s Department of Speech and Hearing.

Impact beyond the Oval

“It was a great opportunity to discuss these important issues with our elected officials. This trip really demonstrated the impact Ohio State students can have when they work together.”
-Spenser Miller, third-year audiology student

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Students pursuing a major in Speech and Hearing Science are introduced both to basic and applied research and to clinical applications. Professional career paths include speech-language pathology, audiology and basic or clinical research.

Speech-language pathologists and audiologists are professionals who work closely with teachers, physicians, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation counselors and other members of an interdisciplinary team, but they are autonomous and do not work under direct medical supervision. They provide professional services in a wide range of facilities, including public and private schools, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing care facilities, community and university clinics, private practice offices, state and local health departments, home care, adult day care centers, centers for the developmentally disabled, research laboratories and industries.

courses you might take:

SPHHRNG 2230:
Introduction to Communication and Its Disorders

Survey of the topics, methodologies and applications of speech and hearing science in normal and aberrant communication; lectures and readings.

SPHHRNG 3320:
Principles of Phonetics

Provides articulatory and acoustic descriptions of speech sounds and a comparative study of phonetic transcription systems.

SPHHRNG 3340:
Introduction to the Art and Science of Sound

Designed to teach the basic principles of acoustics to undergraduate students in the Arts and Sciences who have had little previous experience with math or biological and physical sciences. The student should gain an appreciation of the concepts underlying the generation, transmission and measurement of sound waves traveling through air.

SPHHRNG 3330:
Language Acquisition

Introduction to language acquisition in normal children.

SPHHRNG 3350:
Speech-Language Communication Across the Lifespan

Exploration of the development of communication skills throughout the life span and the consequences of communication disorders for individuals, their families and their communities.

Hustle for Hearing

The Hustle For Hearing 5k race and 1 mile walk is put on each year by the Ohio State University Chapter of the Student Academy of Audiology (SAA). Each year SAA chooses to donate proceeds from Hustle For Hearing to organizations and programs which strive to improve the quality of life for individuals with hearing loss. This year, SAA chose to donate proceeds to campUS, a transition camp for teenagers with hearing loss and their families organized by Ohio State’s Speech-Hearing-Language Clinic.

Community Outreach

“What I found most rewarding was to see all of the children with hearing loss and their families who came out to join us. To know that they enjoyed the event as much as they did was just the icing on the cake.”
-Lauren Ross, fourth year audiology student

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

NSSLHA

The National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association is sponsored by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), which oversees professional certification of audiologists and speech-language pathologists in the United States. The Ohio State chapter typically sponsors a number of activities each semester for students who are interested in gaining additional information or experience in areas related to Speech and Hearing.

SAA

The Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) welcomes undergraduates interested in exploring further study in audiology. SAA is a student-run organization sponsored by the American Academy of Audiology, the national professional organization for audiologists which seeks to further the profession of audiology in the United States.

ASA@OSU

The Acoustical Society of America Regional Chapter at Ohio State is an interdisciplinary organization that supports acoustical research, promotes awareness of sound related fields, discusses technology development and provides a forum where acoustics may be examined. ASA@OSU is a student-run organization where guest speakers from many areas of study are scheduled to present on a topic related to acoustics.